How to Complete The Bad Bunch (Bond Mission) in Rise of the Ronin

Completing missions is one of the vital activities to complete in action RPGs, so Rise of the Ronin is not an exception. Main story missions are mandatory to complete if players want to progress through the game. However, side missions are not compulsory to complete. So, players can easily skip them. In Rise of the Ronin, side missions are called Bond missions. These missions are accessed based on the player’s bond with a certain NPC. 

Generally, Bond missions task players with simple activities that take a few minutes to complete. Completing them will reward players with several valuable items and unlock a new part of the story. Similarly, after progressing up to a certain point, players will receive The Bad Bunch Bond mission. If you are reading this guide, you are probably struggling with the activity of this mission. 

This guide will help you complete the mission, but before that, players need to know some prior information about the mission, including how to get it.

Rise of the Ronin The Bad Bunch Bond Mission: How to Get?

Mission accomplishment is important for sure, but in RPGs, all the missions and side missions are connected to the in-game activities of players. Therefore, if you do certain activities differently, you may miss a few side quests. So, knowing the proper process is a must. The Bad Bunch Bond mission is connected to the Gonzo fight in the game. 

During the Curtain Rises, Curtain Falls main story mission, players will meet the bandit leader Gonzo at the top of a viewpoint. The fight is tough, and players need to adjust their combat style to the boss’ to deal with him. However, once the fight comes to an end and Gonzo’s health bar is empty, a cutscene will give players two options: killing Gonzo or sparing him. This decision is vital for this Bond mission. 

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Ensure you choose to spare Gonzo. Once you spare Gonzo, you will unlock access to The Bad Bunch Bond mission. However, that’s not an immediate side quest to get; instead, players will get it while progressing through the Follow Your Twin Blade main story mission. 

How to Complete The Bad Bunch Bond Mission in Rise of the Ronin

As the Bond mission starts, a suspicious-looking man will tell you to look for a crook man who’s been bothering him. Start interacting with the man and agreeing to his proposal. As soon as you accept his offer, a marker will help you understand the destination where the target is located. Follow the marker, and it will first take you up a hill and then to a shrine. To your surprise, the one who’s bothering the man is revealed to be Gonzo. 

Just like earlier, Gonzo starts playing tricks on you. Start interacting with him, and after a while, Gonzo will offer you to team up with him. Here again, players need to make a decision. The options you get are “Let’s team up” and “No, this time I’m taking you down.” The option you choose will determine the further actions of the Bond mission. Again, this choice is hard without knowing the results of each choice. 

If you choose “Let’s team up,” you will become Gonzo’s partner and head back to the suspicious man who told you about Gonzo in the beginning. This time, you and Gonzo will fight as a team to take down the man and his team. Once that’s done, Gonzo will promise to join your clan and be available for you whenever you need his help. This will unlock Gonzo as a teammate, and in the future, he will be available on companion missions.

On the contrary, if you choose, “No, this time I’m taking you down,” again, a fight will start between you two, and this time, you will finally kill him in the battle without any choice. Once you kill Gonzo, your character will head back to the man who gave you this Bond mission and tell him the news of killing Gonzo. At the end of the interaction, players will get rewards from the suspicious man. 

Again, the problem remains: whether to join Gonzo or kill him. Well, this time as well, we suggest it is better to spare Gonzo and become his ally to kill the suspicious man and his companions. Indeed, killing him will give you some attractive rewards, like the Jigen-Ryu stance for Nodachi weapons, an Oban, and Longhouse gear from the suspicious man, but having Gonzo on your side is worth more than these.

If you join Gonzo and kill the suspicious man, you will get another set of rewards, including 1000 coins, 14XP, Battle-Proven Odachi, Sharaku Ukiyo-e Painting, a Water Jar, and finally, Powder Remedy. But the most important thing you get at this point is that Gonzo joins you as an ally. He will become a permanent ally who can help you in any mission you want him to be on with you.

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Additionally, the more you increase your bond with Gonzo, you will eventually get the Jigen-Ryu combat style and Bandit Chief’s Odachi. The same rewards you will get by killing him during the Bond mission. So, there’s no justification for killing the bandit leader, as sparing him won’t let you miss out on anything. Maybe the acquisition process will take some time, but killing Gonzo will eliminate the chance of having the bandit leader as a teammate permanently. 

That’s all you need to know about completing The Bad Bunch Bond Mission in Rise of the Ronin. The choice you make here doesn’t at all alter the main story of the game. Regardless of whether you kill Gonzo or get him as an ally, the main story of the game progresses the same way and gives you the same outcome when you reach the climax. 

Therefore, the choice is only something that impacts your team. With Gonzo, you will have a stronger team for future missions; without him, it will probably lack some strength. Anyway, the choice is yours, and players can choose whatever they want based on their current in-game situation.